Chennai Cafe — Restaurant in Tempe

Walked in at 2 PM, stomach growling louder than the Tempe heat (which was a casual 110°F outside). No welcome drink in the buffet. Okay.. I ordered a sweet lassi — more on that sour tale later.

The buffet spread looked promising at first glance: • Firm vada (definitely not the “medhu” kind they advertised — this one had the personality of a hockey puck), • Andhra-style dal/pappu (so far from Chennai, it needed a visa), • Vegetable kurma, • Green beans poriyal, • Jeera rice, • Veg biriyani, • Chopped paratha pieces (adorable, but why - to reduce waste? 👏👏), • Kheer, and of course, the usual elements of Chennai buffet — sambar, garlic rasam, raita, plain curd, coconut chutney, and a surprisingly brilliant lemon pickle.

I barely settled into my plate when they brought a mini masala dosa. Ah, the moment of truth! Crispy, white, and petite — I asked for ghee, mixed it with dal and rice… and BOOM — I was instantly transported to Bhimas, Tirupati (or Nagarjuna, Bengaluru)! The Andhra vibe was strong with this one. Chennai? Not even in the same postal code range.

Tried the paratha with kurma next. Tasted like it was couriered from a generic North Indian buffet — no trace of Chennai’s unique flavor in kurma.

Then came the dosa moment I was waiting for… and instantly regretted. The Ice Masala Dosa (patent pending) had cooled off faster than my expectations. The potato filling inside lacked onions, masala, or any character really. I’ve had more expressive mashed potatoes in airplane meals.😏

Sambar? Not from Chennai. Chutney? Not from Chennai. I was having flashbacks of eating tiffin at Warangal railway station three decades ago when Chennai to Delhi GT Express halts for two minutes — except that had more soul. 😌

Feeling betrayed by geography and name marketing, I ended my meal with jeera rice mixed with curd and a generous scoop of that divine lemon pickle. The highlight of the meal, ironically, was the pickle.

When I mentioned my disappointment to the cashier, he smiled and said, “Sir, please come back for our kothu parotta and rava dosa — that’s real Chennai!” I asked, “Same sambar and chutney though?” He looked at me like I had asked for his ATM pin. Silence. Awkward.

Oh, and that sweet lassi? Sour enough to curdle your dreams. I brought it home — currently trying to use it to grow a plant. So far, two ants and one fruit fly have avoided it.

Rating: 2/5 — one star for the lemon pickle, one for the air conditioning, golden cutlery and the...

See Update below:

This is a new business establishment and is really trying to build its loyal customer base. That said, they have succeeded in doing so (for now, at least) with me, after serving me really well during my two visits to this place with different people, over the past month. The South-Indian thali was mouth-watering and authentic (although my friend's kothu paratha was soggy), and the lunch items in the menu on Sunday were absolutely delicious (which is why they kept running out of some items and had to replace them with substitutes). The prices are somewhat reasonable, but the things I really like about this business are: Very convenient location (right across the street from the tram station. Chefs that are native to India (unlike other businesses that just hand off a recipe book as part of 'orientation/training' to some illegal immigrant looking for minimum wages) and take the time and energy to prepare an authentic dish to perfection. I STRONGLY recommend this business to anybody in the area looking to quench their hunger with some authentic south Indian food.

UPDATED on 5/27/2023: Over the past 2 months, there has been a marked decline in the quality of service and customer friendliness. The food still tastes almost the same, but the prices have increased and the staff have become extremely arrogant and greedy. The buffets on weekends are now just under $20 a person, and to add insult to injury - Upon my visit today, I was told that I would be charged double the price of a buffet if I ate for more than 90 minutes, DESPITE there being numerous empty tables around me. Also, the second plain dosa bread ("included in the buffet") I ordered never got served. It appears that the corporatization bug has gotten to them too, and they're looking for novel ways to make their financials trump the...

I wish I could give negative stars for this restaurant. NEVER EVER VISIT THIS RESTAURANT IF YOU HAVE SELF RESPECT!!!! Staff were rude, and senseless.

So I am visiting Arizona and I wanted to try South Indian cuisine so looking at the rating I went to Chennai Cafe during time 6:30 PM for dinner and there were three main staff. We are taking order and serving food. Two guys ( both were tall and healthy body and additionally one had beard) were there and one lady was there. Here is my experience: FOOD: I ordered two Dosas and they were so blend that it isn’t worth to spend a penny at this restaurant. Probably they served the cold food from their morning buffet.

STAFF: Apart from food, the service was even worst. They don’t know how to talk with customers. (a) They were so rude, when I asked them about dosas like what comes under this dosas, they answered rudely. (b) when I asked them to refill sambhar and chutneys, they denied to refill red chutney saying they were out of stock. Mannn how come at just 6:30 PM they say like they are out of such chutney which is part of almost all of their dishes. And they served same chutney right next to our table who were from their own community so they are totally RACIST. (c)Additionally when I was leaving, I wanted to go boxes for my two left over dosas. And when I asked that guy having beard to bring to go boxes, he just brought one and asked me to adjust two dosas in one tiny box with two tiny containers for chutneys. How senseless they were asking to me mix two different dosas in one box. When I asked for another container for my sambhar, other than beard guy asked rudely “For What” when they can clearly see that everything was packed except my sambhar, still had guts to ask...